Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Austrian-born Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (VOOLF-gahng ah-muh-DAY-oos MOHT-sahrt, 1756–1791), unquestionably one of the greatest composers in history, began his career touring Europe as a 6-year-old piano prodigy, and he absorbed and mastered all the contemporary musical trends he was exposed to along the way. Mozart wrote 22 operas, including, The Marriage of Figaro (1786), Don Giovanni (1787), Cosi fan tutte (1790), and The Magic Flute (1791), as well as 40 symphonies (“No. 37” is by Michael Haydn, but with a new introduction by Mozart), 27 concertos, chamber music, sonatas, and choral pieces, numbering over 600 works all together.

Divertimento in D, K.136

Mozart basically was still a 16-year-old "apprentice" composer when he wrote the Divertimento in D, K.136. It is the first of the three works (K. 136-138) that are sometimes referred to as the "Salzburg Symphonies," because he was employed as court musician in Salzburg during in the winter of 1772 when they were written. It is unclear from his manuscript whether Mozart intended them for string quartet or string orchestra, and the title"divertimento" was added by a hand other than Mozart's. Unlike the composer's mature Divertimentos andSerenades for winds and strings which typically have at least 6 movements, these Salzburg string-only works have just three movements. By this point in his career Mozart had already spent time in Italy, and would soon return, so it is not surprising that he seems to have patterned them after the Italian sinfonia, works typically in a fast-slow-fast, three-movement pattern.

• YouTube Performance

• Score at IMSLP

Twelve Variations on "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman", K. 265/300e (arr. for flute quartet by Paul Morgan)

His Twelve Variations on "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman", K. 265/300e, originally composed for piano solo, is based on the same tune used in the children’s nursery song, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” Arranger Paul Morgan (b.1928) was principal flutist in the Fort Worth Opera Company and the Wichita Falls Symphony, and he has published numerous works for flute and flute ensembles.

--Intermezzo Sunday Concerts, March 9, 2008 (Arioso Flute Quartet)

Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 311, gets it's "Alla Turca" nickname from the famous last movement, which is often performed on its own as Turkish Rondo or Turkish March. The "Turkish" style was meant to conjure the sound of Janissary bands which had become quite the rage throughout Europe--Haydn and Beethoven, among others, also imitated the style in several pieces. Mozart's first movement is a theme with six variations. Following the 2nd-movement (minuet with trio), the Alla Turca rondo tune has been described as beginning like a 7th variation of the first-movement theme, perhaps providing the wholeSonata with a cyclic unity unusual for the time.

The Sonata in F Major, K. 332, is the third of three sonatas (along with K. 330 and K. 331) that were published in 1784. It seems likely that Mozart had composed them for his students the previous year, but he and his publisher decided they could "cash in" on Mozart's growing fame as a pianist by offering them for sale to the public at large.

• Score of the complete Sonata at imslp.org

• YouTube Performance of Allegro assai

Left unfinished, Mozart’s Piano Fantasia in D minor, K. 397, is thought to have been composed in 1872, around the same time as the Prelude (Fantasy) and Fugue in C major, K. 394, and the Fantasy in C minor, K. 396. The manuscript of the D minor Fantasy ended on a dominant 7th chord, and Mozart originally may have planned to follow it with a fugue, as in K. 394. It was first published in its original, incomplete form in 1804, but a new edition came out two years later that included an additional 10 measures added by the publisher so the work could be performed without leaving the audience hanging. Comprised of three contrasting sections, The Fantasy has become one of Mozart’s most popular piano pieces. It opens with an Andante section reminiscent of Baroque-era preludes, replete with arpeggios. The second section, the longest of the three, is a melancholy Adagio that is interrupted by a couple of unmeasured cadenzas, and the final section is a spritely Allegretto in D Major.

• YouTube Performance

Horn Concerto No. 3, K. 447

When Mozart reached the ripe old age of 7, he made the acquaintance of Joseph Leutgeb (1732-1811), one of his father's colleagues and a leading horn virtuoso of the day. Leutgeb remained a lifelong friend, and Mozart wrote his four horn concertos specifically for Leutgeb; the autograph copies of the solo horn parts even include personal messages from the composer to the performer. The four horn concertos date from the last eight years of Mozart's short life, beginning with "No. 2" in 1783, and ending with "No. 1" in 1791, not long before his death. Mozart kept a catalog of his works, but it did not include what we know as Horn Concerto No. 3, K. 447 (it may have been second in order of composition). So exactly when it was completed is not known, but the mid-1780s is the likely timeframe. All four concertos have held places in the repertoire of virtually all professional horn players, and they certainly attest to the skill of Herr Leutgeb--the piston and valve horn we have today had not yet been invented, so performance on the "natural" horn requires a prodigious amount of hand and lip manipulation to play any tones outside the instrument's natural harmonic series.

• YouTube Performance (with orchestra)

Piano Sonata in C minor, K. 457

The Piano Sonata in C minor, K. 457 (1784) is generally regarded as Mozart's finest work in the genre, and it likely served as the inspiration for Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, "Pathétique". Mozart dedicated his three-movement Sonata to Thérèse von Trattner, a friend and piano student who later became godmother to four of the composer's six children.

--Music @ Main, October 20, 2009 (Abbas Abboud, piano)

Piano Quartet No. 1, KV 478

Written in 1785, Mozart’s Piano Quartet No. 1, KV 478, is the earliest masterpiece for a surprisingly rare performance ensemble combining piano with string trio—Haydn wrote nothing for piano quartet and Beethoven never returned to the medium after three very early Piano Quartets, WoO 36, coincidentally also written in 1785 when Beethoven was only 14. Mozart was originally commissioned to write a set of three quartets suitable for amateur musicians, but the publisher canceled the order for the last two quartets because the first one was too difficult for amateurs, and he feared the new quartets would be unlikely to return a profit. Nonetheless, this Quartet is one of Mozart’s finest creations, and the great Czech Romantic composer Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) borrowed the opening theme for the finale of his String Quintet, Op. 1. Always strapped for cash, Mozart luckily got to keep the advance payment from the commission, but even with the commission canceled Mozart found the instrumentation artistically rewarding, enough so that he returned to it 9 months later, producing his Piano Quartet No. 2, KV 493.

--Music @ Main, March 3, 2009 (Trio Florida)

Trio in Eb Major, K. 498 “Kegelstatt Trio”

Composed in 1786, the "Kegelstatt" Trio was originally written to be played by clarinetist Anton Stadler (1753-1812), for whom Mozart also wrote a concerto and quintet, with Mozart playing the viola part and with one of Mozart’s students on piano. Legend has it that Mozart wrote the work while simultaneously occupied in a game of skittles (i.e., lawn bowling), hence the nickname “Kegelstatt,” a German term indicating the skittles playing field.

--Intermezzo Sunday Concerts, May 4, 2008 (JU Faculty Trio)

Piano Trio in E Minor, K. 502 [PDF Score] On YouTube: 1. Allegro | 2. Larghetto | 3. Allegretto

Mozart is seldom, if ever, called “The Father of the Modern Piano Trio,” but he well might be as he was the first composer to treat the violin and cello as partners independent of the keyboard. Earlier works for the ensemble, and even those by Haydn written after Mozart had died, mostly relegated the strings as optional parts that merely doubled and reinforced the piano or harpsichord, which was still a popular household instrument among amateur players. Mozart wrote the first three of his six piano trios in the summer of 1786, and the rest in 1788. The B-flat major Piano Trio, K. 502, was the third one composed, and it is considered his finest—most of the others were intended for amateur musicians, whereas he intended to perform this one himself. It is one of the few works for which his working sketches survive, and from them it is clear that he took the challenge of achieving the proper balance among the instruments very seriously. But, of course, being Mozart there is little wonder that he succeeded so perfectly.

Mozart’s graceful and charming Piano Sonata No. 16 in C major, K. 545, is likely the one that first comes to mind when his 18 works in the genre are mentioned. Despite its present-day popularity, the Sonata, dating from 1788, remained unpublished while Mozart was alive, not appearing in print until 1805. The clear-cut themes and formal structure are about as “Classical” as you can get, but the first movement sonata-form (i.e., using an "exposition-development-recapitulation" structure) boasts one anomaly: the recap begins in F major (the subdominant key) rather than in the expected home key of C major. Schubert and other later composers picked up on the idea, but it was very unusual when Mozart used it.

• YouTube Performance (1st mvt.)

Abendempfindung an Laura (Laura's Evening Sentiment" (K. 523) was written in 1787, and although exactly who "Laura" represents remains a mystery, her melancholy musing provided the inspiration for what is considered Mozart's finest song for voice and piano, which in turn provided Schubert a worthy example of what the genre might aspire to.

Le nozze di Figaro: Non più andrai

Also in 1786, Mozart and Lorenzo da Ponte (1749-1838) began their highly successful collaboration with the comic opera, Le nozze di Figaro (“The Marriage of Figaro”), based on the French farce, La Folle journée, ou Le Mariage de Figaro (“The Crazy Day, or The Marriage of Figaro”), by Pierre Beaumarchais (boh-mahr-SHAY, 1732-1799). The play, which pokes wicked fun at the aristocracy, was banned in 1781 by Louis XVI, but a much revised version was finally performed in Paris in 1784. Even though the play was still banned in Vienna two years later, Da Ponte adapted it for Mozart, keeping the satire but removing the politics, and the madcap opera had a successful Viennese premiere.

“Figaro,” formerly a barber in Seville, is now the valet to “Count Almaviva.” Figaro is about to marry “Susanna,” the maid to the “Countess,” so he becomes understandably outraged when the Count makes inappropriate advances toward his fiancé—eventually the bride and groom team up with the wronged Countess to outwit the old philanderer, but in the meantime, “Cherubino,” a household page (and hopeless flirt), has developed a schoolboy crush on the Countess. When the Count gets wind of it—well, what’s good for the gander isn’t good for the goose, so Almaviva decides to get rid of the young nuisance by drafting him into the army. In Non più andrai (“No More Gallivanting”), Figaro shamelessly teases the youth about having to give up his current occupation (of chasing skirts) for the “glories” of mortal combat.

--Intermezzo Sunday Concerts, November 18, 2007 (Bella Voce Cabaret)

In 1786, Mozart and librettist Lorenzo da Ponte (1749-1838) began their highly successful collaboration with the comic opera, Le nozze di Figaro (“The Marriage of Figaro”), which pokes wicked fun at the aristocracy. “Figaro,” formerly a barber in Seville, is now the valet to “Count Almaviva.” Figaro is about to marry “Susanna,” the maid to the Count's wife, and both Figaro and the "Countess" are unhappy, to say the least, when the Count makes inappropriate advances toward Susanna. Eventually the bride and groom team up with the wronged Countess to outwit the old philander, but not before the Countess laments her husband's would-be infidelity in Porgi, Amor ("Grant me, O Love").

• • YouTube performance (4:00)

Le nozze di Figaro: Overture (arr. for clarinet choir by Lucien Cailliet)

Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro, 1786), is a cornerstone of the operatic repertoire, and its famous Overture is frequently performed as a stand-alone concert piece, as in this arrangement for clarinet choir. Arranger Lucien Cailliet (1897-1985) was born in France but moved to the United States in 1918, and became a clarinetist and staff arranger for the Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski. Upon completing his doctoral studies in 1937, Cailliet (often misspelled "Caillet") joined the faculty of the University of Southern California for seven years, after which he devoted time to composing and arranging scores for nearly 50 films. Cailliet's arrangements of orchestral music for wind ensembles are highly regarded and frequently performed.

--Music @ Main, April 8, 2009 (UNF Clarinet Choir)

Don Giovanni

Of all the different versions of the Don Juan legend, Mozart’s comic opera, Don Giovanni, on a libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte (1749-1838), is among the best known and most discussed. The Don is an unrepentant rake who lives solely for his own selfish pleasures, with utter disregard for how his behavior might affect others. Mozart’s opera picks up as Giovanni’s luck finally begins to fade and his past begins to catch up with him. He is on the run after killing the father of a would-be romantic conquest when he spies a party of peasants celebrating the upcoming nuptials of the beautiful “Zerlina” and her jealous fiancé, “Masetto.” Don Giovanni manages to get Zerlina alone, and in the beautifully seductive La ci darem la mano, he is almost successful in adding another conquest to the over 2000 already under his belt. As a comedy, the opera has the required happy ending—for everyone, that is, except the amoral Don!

La ci darem la mano

In Mi tradi quell'alma ingrate (That ungrateful wretch betrayed me), "Donna Elvira," one of the Don's betrayed victims, reflects on the torn emotions he evokes in her. She cannot deny that his guilt deserves the wrath of heaven, but at the same time, realizing that she still has feelings for him, she is fearful at the thought of him being harmed.

Così fan tutte: Soave sia il vento

Così fan tutte (roughly, “All Women Are Like That”), follows Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni as Mozart’s third (and last) opera on a libretto by Da Ponte. The story revolves around “Fiordiligi” and “Dorabella,” two sisters who are each engaged to army officers. The officers enter into a wager with “Don Alfonso,” a cynical old philosopher, to test the fidelity of the sisters—the officers, never doubting their brides-to-be, pretend they are called off to war, but they soon will reappear disguised as foreigners, and each will then try to seduce the other’s fiancé. In the exquisite trio, Soave sia il vento, the sisters and Don Alfonso bid the soldiers a safe farewell. As the opera progresses, the soldiers ultimately loose their bet, but in the end they all reconcile, and everyone rejoices at their ability to forgive and laugh at their mistakes.

--Intermezzo Sunday Concerts, November 18, 2007 (Bella Voce Cabaret)

L'amerò, sarò costante from Il Re Pastore (The Shepherd King), K. 208

Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Italian text by Pietro Metastasio EnglishTranslation by Ed Lein, c2009 English Versification by Ed Lein, c2009

--Intermezzo Sunday Concerts, February, 2007 (Hsiao-Ling Wang, Kristin Samuelson)

The Queen of the Night's Vengeance Aria (arr. for 2 flutes)

An extremely demanding tour de force originally for high (high!) coloratura soprano, Der Holle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen ("Hell's vengeance boils in my heart"), is from the 2nd Act of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte ("The Magic Flute," 1791), the immensely popular Singspiel completed only a few months before the composer's death. Also known as "The Queen of the Night's Vengeance Aria," it famously presents the woefully unmaternal Queen trying to coerce her daughter, Pamina, to surreptitiously stab the Queen's rival, the virtuous Sarastro. Arranger Gerhard Braun (b. 1932) is a German flutist, composer, teacher, and recording artist who is highly regarded especially for his virtuoso recorder-playing.